Notation software?

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   What is your experience with notation software? I’m unsure of which one I should buy. The most famous ones are Finale and Sibelius but the full versions cost 600 USD, so I wonder if I can get what I need for less money. I’m currently testing Finale PrintMusic for free — it seems OK (I’ve only had it for one day, so maybe it’s great, or maybe it’s crap) and it’s much cheaper than the full version, but it irritates me that the online instructions are somewhat erratic, at least for me as a Mac user.

My requirements:

I must be able to write music for
- a full symphony orchestra
- different guitars
- keyboards like piano, organ and cembalo
- harp, mandolin, bouzouki  and other plucked strings
- voices
- percussion
- whatever would cross my mind, like a kazoo or ocarina

I must be able to easily
- change the time signature
- change the key
- change the mode of playing (legato,staccato, pizzicato, arco, sul ponte etc.)
- write chords and polyphonic music within the same notation (like you do for the guitar)
- add lyrics
- add the right symbols for tempo, dynamics, expression etc.
- correct the score if necessary

In short: everything a composer wishes to do.

(The MIDI-function is not that important for me at the moment.)

Do I need the full version of Finale or Sibelius, or can I do with Finale PrintMusic or another cheaper software?

I will be grateful for every answer.

Yours

Espen

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refugee Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member VIP Member Joined: November 20 2006 Location: Greece Status: Offline Points: 7026	Topic: Notation software? Posted: November 30 2010 at 10:25
	What is your experience with notation software? I’m unsure of which one I should buy. The most famous ones are Finale and Sibelius but the full versions cost 600 USD, so I wonder if I can get what I need for less money. I’m currently testing Finale PrintMusic for free — it seems OK (I’ve only had it for one day, so maybe it’s great, or maybe it’s crap) and it’s much cheaper than the full version, but it irritates me that the online instructions are somewhat erratic, at least for me as a Mac user. My requirements: I must be able to write music for - a full symphony orchestra - different guitars - keyboards like piano, organ and cembalo - harp, mandolin, bouzouki and other plucked strings - voices - percussion - whatever would cross my mind, like a kazoo or ocarina I must be able to easily - change the time signature - change the key - change the mode of playing (legato,staccato, pizzicato, arco, sul ponte etc.) - write chords and polyphonic music within the same notation (like you do for the guitar) - add lyrics - add the right symbols for tempo, dynamics, expression etc. - correct the score if necessary In short: everything a composer wishes to do. (The MIDI-function is not that important for me at the moment.) Do I need the full version of Finale or Sibelius, or can I do with Finale PrintMusic or another cheaper software? I will be grateful for every answer. Yours Espen
	He say nothing is quite what it seems; I say nothing is nothing (Peter Hammill)

Vompatti Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member VIP Member Joined: October 22 2005 Location: elsewhere Status: Offline Points: 67452	Posted: November 30 2010 at 11:18
	Have you tried LilyPond? It's text-based and takes some time to learn, but I think you could do everything you need to with it. MuseScore is supposedly similar to Finale and Sibelius, but I found the interface annoying and the beta version I tried (about a year ago?) crashed quite often. Both are free, so you might as well give them a shot if you haven't already.

refugee Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member VIP Member Joined: November 20 2006 Location: Greece Status: Offline Points: 7026	Posted: November 30 2010 at 12:26
	I’ve actually tried LilyPond, and it didn’t work for me. Probably I didn’t understand it. If fact, I didn’t even know how to open it …
	He say nothing is quite what it seems; I say nothing is nothing (Peter Hammill)

Vompatti Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member VIP Member Joined: October 22 2005 Location: elsewhere Status: Offline Points: 67452	Posted: November 30 2010 at 12:42
	I think you have to type and save the text file in some text editor and drag it on the LilyPond desktop icon to convert it to PDF.

Proletariat Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: March 30 2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1882	Posted: November 30 2010 at 14:40
	I have "sibleus first" and am happy with it, the newer versions have more options, but i dont feel like i (or you) would need them.
	who hiccuped endlessly trying to giggle but wound up with a sob

Philamelian Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Groupie Joined: May 01 2009 Location: London Status: Offline Points: 67	Posted: December 01 2010 at 07:43
	I have used sibelius long time ago no doupt it's a great software for writing scores but I think doesn't worth all that money if you're not doing this professionally. Last year I need a software for writing again and while I was googling I come across to MuseScore. Nice software really. I agree with the crashes but it did the job for me.
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